• Home
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Support Us
  • Cathedrals
    • List of Cathedrals
    • Gallery
    • Royal Peculiars
    • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
    • Non-Anglican cathedrals
  • About Cathedrals
    • Cathedral and Bishop
    • Cathedral and diocese
    • How is it governed?
    • How is it financed?
    • What is a cathedral?
  • About us
    • Read more About Us
    • Executive Members
    • Executive Director
    • Media enquiries
    • Report and Accounts
    • Cathedral Networks
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Cathedral Cycle Champions
    • Cathedrals Cycle Route
    • Cathedral Links
    • Cathedral and Major Church Projects Support Panel
    • Cathedrals Measures
    • Chapter Training
    • Church of England
    • Jobs and volunteering
    • Pilgrim Passport
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Latest Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Events Map
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Linkedin Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com
  • Bluesky Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comBluesky

Enter your search, example: Cathedral

The Association of English Cathedrals
  • About Us
  • News
  • Events
  • Divine Light – the Winners
  • Cathedrals
    • List of Cathedrals
    • Gallery
    • Royal Peculiars
    • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
    • Non-Anglican cathedrals
  • About Cathedrals
    • Cathedral and Bishop
    • Cathedral and diocese
    • How is it governed?
    • How is it financed?
    • What is a cathedral?
  • About us
    • Read more About Us
    • Executive Members
    • Executive Director
    • Media enquiries
    • Report and Accounts
    • Cathedral Networks
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Cathedral Cycle Champions
    • Cathedrals Cycle Route
    • Cathedral Links
    • Cathedral and Major Church Projects Support Panel
    • Cathedrals Measures
    • Chapter Training
    • Church of England
    • Jobs and volunteering
    • Pilgrim Passport
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Latest Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Events Map
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. BBC Young Chorister of the Year Winner 2023
Back to all news

BBC Young Chorister of the Year Winner 2023

05th December 2023

Former Wells Cathedral chorister, Belinda Gifford-Guy has won the 2023 BBC Young Chorister of the Year competition (Junior category).

Watch as Belinda wins BBC Young Chorister of the Year

Re-live the moment on BBC iPlayer here.

The final of this enormously prestigious competition – run by Songs of Praise and BBC Radio 2 – was held in Manchester and broadcast on BBC TV on Sunday 3 December. While praising all three finalists for their wonderful singing, judges Ken Burton, Wynne Evans and Laura Wright lauded Belinda for her particular ability to tell a story through her performance.

A former chorister at Wells Cathedral, Belinda is now a specialist singer on Wells Cathedral School’s celebrated vocal programme, which helps many former choristers build on their incredible early musical experiences and prepares them for the next stage of their musical lives as soloists or professional choral singers of the future. She studies with Elizabeth Donovan, and sings in both Choralia – our prize-winning girls only choir – and the Chapel Choir, which regularly performs in Wells Cathedral and other concert venues.

Belinda was accompanied to the final by Christopher Finch, Head of Vocal Studies, who commented:

“We are so proud of Belinda. I had the enormous privilege of being at the competition in Manchester and I was absolutely delighted by the professionalism, musicianship and the pure joy that she showed through both days of filming. The final was an amazing celebration of choristership and singing, with each of the finalists producing deeply moving and beautifully prepared performances. Belinda has done incredibly well to rise to the top of such a competitive field. We will all look forward to the many opportunities that she will have to perform and broadcast for the BBC over the next year as BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2023.”

Who won it last year – find out here.

Alastair Tighe, Head Master of Wells Cathedral School, added:

“We are all absolutely delighted that Belinda’s vocal talent has been recognised in such a prestigious national competition. She has already regularly lifted the spirits of both School and Cathedral members through her singing both as a soloist and in various ensembles here, but it is wonderful that she is able to share her talent with an even wider audience through her participation in this competition. We are extremely proud of her achievement and look forward as a School to helping her develop even further in the future.”

To watch Belinda’s performance in the final, visit BBC iPlayer.

Photo Credit – Tricia Yourkevich  Article Source – Wells Cathedral School.

Previous
Next

Trending News

1. Updated – Cathedral Peregrine Webcams

15th January 2026

2. Worcester Cathedral – Peregrine Falcon Livestream Webcam Launched

26th February 2026

3. Peregrines Nesting at Winchester Cathedral – Webcam is Live

26th February 2026

4. The Cuthbert Centre for Pilgrimage and Prayer – Durham Cathedral

25th February 2026

5. Lent at Chichester Cathedral

18th February 2026

Related Reading

Peregrines nesting at Winchester Cathedral again after a year away - webcam is live.

Peregrines Nesting at Winchester Cathedral – Webcam is Live

26th February 2026
Peregrine Livestream at Worcester Cathedral Switches on Early for Upcoming Season

Worcester Cathedral – Peregrine Falcon Livestream Webcam Launched

26th February 2026
New mobile phone audio tour launched at Truro Cathedral

New Audio Tour Launched at Truro Cathedral

25th February 2026
The Cuthbert Centre for Pilgrimage and Prayer (CCPP) - Revd James Shelton

The Cuthbert Centre for Pilgrimage and Prayer – Durham Cathedral

25th February 2026
The Bury Psalter, an illuminated book of Psalms which dates from around 1400 and was used by the Abbey of St Edmund, is to find a new home at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

The Bury Psalter – St Edmundsbury Cathedral

25th February 2026
Artist named for new permanent artwork in response to Bristol Cathedral’s Colston window.

Bristol Cathedral Unveils Artist for Work in Response to Colston Window

20th February 2026
Lent at Salisbury Cathedral

Lent at Salisbury Cathedral

18th February 2026
An exhibition that explores the experiences of refugees is a centrepiece of Portsmouth Cathedral’s Lent programme this year.

Lent at Portsmouth Cathedral

18th February 2026

Contact

Association of English Cathedrals
116 Station Road,
Sutton Coldfield,
B73 5LD
+44 (0)7860 921 419
Email Us

Projects

  • Discover Cathedrals
  • Discover Pilgrimage
  • Choral Evensong
  • Cathedral Ceilings – Always Look Up
  • Cathedral Doors – Look in

Links

  • Resources
  • About us
  • Cathedrals
  • Contact Us
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter Signup

Signup to our newsletter and receive the latest news and event information directly to your inbox.

Registered charity 1128254 Company limited by guarantee

Registered in England 06726262

Website Design: IfLooksCouldKill

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
  • Manage options
  • Manage services
  • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
  • Read more about these purposes
View preferences
  • {title}
  • {title}
  • {title}